Prophecy
by asheliavalentine
Summary: Kind of original... When Vincent begins having dreams of a mysterious girl and the end of the world, he knows he must find her and vanquish the demon that threatens the world. ashe/vincent AU, both out of character.
1. Prologue

((Disclaimer: I own most of everything, except Vincent and Ashe. They belong to Square Enix. Some parts may also be familiar to various Final Fantasies. Again, credit goes to Square Enix. Also some reference to Mario and Peach.. They're from Nintendo))

Note: Written for my entertainment. I got bored.

* * *

I'm falling.

How? Where? Why?

Am I dreaming?

It's so dark.

If I'm falling fast or slow, I can't really tell. But I know I'm falling headfirst. I slowly right myself and land softly on the ground.

I'm on the beach, I realize. It's probably past midnight and I'm here. Why the hell am I here?

The breeze from the sea feels great. I breathe in deeply, and my body relaxes.

What are you doing, Vincent? I ask myself. You don't know where you are! Find a way out! But… I don't want to.

I look around and spot a dock near where I stand. There's a woman at the end of it.

A heavy feeling comes to the air. Something horrible is about to happen.

I run to the dock and stop at its base. The woman has her back to me.

I'm afraid to move closer. A glowing, white aura surrounds her. Her blonde hair flies around her like a halo.

I try calling to her, to warn her of some impending doom; but somehow, I couldn't find my voice.

What's happening? She's getting so far away. Literally. I swear that dock got longer.

I run to her. Somehow, I knew I must protect her. The dock seems endless. The more I run, the farther she gets. (Just like in Super Mario 64, when you try going… Er… Never mind.) Why can't I reach her?

I stop. It is futile.

She turns to face me. As I thought, she is beautiful. Like an angel.

Her eyes are filled with fear. A huge shadow creeps up behind her. It's a demon. It's taking her light.

My gun! I have a gun! I reach for the Cerberus.

The hell? The gun isn't here.

She mouths something I can't understand. But the last part of it, I understand.

_I'm sorry, Vincent, _she mouths.

She closes her eyes and tears fall.

I watch, horrified, as she falls backwards into the dark waters behind her.

The demon laughs, a horrible sound.

I sink to my knees. I failed to save her. She's dead. Dead, dead, dead.

Now the world will fall into darkness. I don't know how I knew that. Heck, I don't even know that woman. But somehow, she was very important to me. My princess or something. I was here to fight for her, to protect her for the sake of the world. (Like what Mario does for Peach… Oh, never mind.)

I failed that last part.

I'm sorry, princess.

Everything around me gets shrouded in darkness. All of it sinks into the shadows. Slowly, it eats away at me. I accept my fate. I deserve it.

It is the end.

Goodbye.


	2. The Hermit of Leiand

Vincent sat up in bed, sweat running down his forehead. The dream always made him wake up in cold sweat, and made him feel as if he really had dissolved into the shadows.

It was always the same dream: he falls from the sky, lands on a beach, sees a woman, she dies, and then he himself dies. What did it all mean?

The dreams started when he moved to a small city called Leiand, which was about a week ago. It was all part of the job. And his job was one of those guys who protected the city and took down any bad dude.

He checked the clock on his bedside table. It read 2:00am.

_Crap, it's too early, _he thought,_ today is not going to be a great day._

Then he fell back asleep.

A few hours later, he rushed out of his apartment to get to the training fields on time, for once.

"Late again, Valentine!" their leader, Tobias bellowed. "Get to the Forest Post!"

Vincent sighed and started to run to the forest. A sign at the entrance caught his eye.

_**Forest of Bloody Death – entrance**_

_Well, that's inviting… _Vincent thought. _Nice name for a forest, too._

Unfortunately, he got lost. He had been searching for the Forest Post for about an hour now.

After a few more minutes of searching, he came upon a clearing with a small wooden house. _Weird, _he thought, _who would want to live in a place called The Forest of _Bloody Death_? _Still, he knocked, thinking that maybe the resident knew where the post was.

An old woman answered the door. "Vincent Valentine," she said. "So the prophecies are true."

"Excuse me?" Vincent asked. There was something odd about this old lady.

"Come in, I'll explain everything."

"Actually, ma'am, I was wondering if you knew where the Forest Post is."

"This is much more important than your job, Vincent," she said.

"Er… Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"My name is Rowena," she answered. "I am the Hermit of Leiand."

Vincent got that 'You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding' look on his face.

"I didn't think this would happen so soon," Rowena muttered to herself. "Then again, I should have prepared long ago…"

"Pardon?"

She pointed to Vincent. "You are the Chosen One," she said seriously. "Prophecies are written, my boy."

Vincent's head was beginning to spin. Either he was this some sort of 'Chosen One', or this lady was deranged.

He seemed to hear more of the second option.

"Okay, well, it was very nice meeting you, Rowena. I have to go now," he said, planning to run away now.

"Very well, Vincent," Rowena said. "You'll come back, anyway. You'll know when."

And with the blink of an eye, Vincent found himself in front of the Forest Post.


	3. By the Sea

When Vincent resumed his Post, he found he couldn't concentrate. He was still thinking about Rowena, whether that whole scene was a hallucination or not. He was so deep in thought that he let pass all the infiltrators at a drill. Tobias had to send him home.

"Get some rest, Valentine," he said. "I can't have you distracted while on duty."

Vincent took heed and left.

But he didn't want to go home yet. He decided to go to the other part of Leiand, the part that was nearer to the ocean.

Leiand was divided into two parts: the Town, which had most of the residential homes; and the Coast, which was built almost on the beach and had most of the shops.

He wanted to go to the beach and lie in the sand. And eventually, sleep. But when he got to the Coast, the beach was too crowded. Then something caught his eye. Near the edge of the shore was a forest that had a narrow stone path leading inside and a sign near the entrance that read:

_**Do not enter! Monsters ahead**_

Curiosity got to Vincent. He headed down the dirt path.

It was dark inside the forest. But Vincent just continued to follow the path ahead of him. He saw a light at the end.

_Weird, _he thought, _no monsters._

He reached the end and came upon a small empty beach.

Now he had a private place to sleep.

There, just lying in the fine white sand, Vincent closed his eyes.

The sea smelled wonderful.

The breeze felt great.

The sound of the waves was like a lullaby.

And before long, he fell asleep.

* * *

A month after that Rowena thing, he completely forgot about ever meeting her. He told himself that she was just a figment of his imagination, possibly from lack of sleep. And he found himself a nice place to go every time he got a day off. He would go to his private beach and just sleep. There, he never got the nightmares of the end of the world. He always woke up refreshed, always slept better there.

Then one day at the beach, while he was sleeping, a voice called out to him.

"Hey," the voice said.

_The voice of an angel,_ Vincent thought.

"Hey," the voice repeated, louder this time.

Vincent opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a young woman, around her late teens or early twenties.

He gasped and sat up. She looked just like the girl in his nightmare.

She had pale blue eyes and light blonde hair and pale, creamy skin. She was beautiful, a woman of delicate beauty.

She smiled. "You're alive."

"I was just sleeping," Vincent said.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I thought the high tide washed you up on shore since your clothes are all wet."

"Had I just slept through high tide?"

"Seems to be," she laughed.

Vincent cleared his throat. "How'd you get here? I thought the forest was dangerous."

She smiled. "I put the sign there. I was hoping I could keep this beach to myself," she said. "Although, it looks like that didn't work."

"Heh…" Vincent said. "I'm sorry."

Her smile grew bigger, and her eyes brightened. "No, it'll be great to have company sometimes."

"I don't think I've seen you around the Town before," Vincent said, changing the subject.

"I've lived in Leiand since I was seven," she said. "I live on the Coast, so I tend to stay there. How about you? You're new."

"I just moved to Leiand from Ovima last month," he said, then explained about his job.

An awkward silence followed.

Vincent stood up and brushed the sand off his hair and clothes. "Could I buy you a coffee, or something?"

Her eyes lit up. "I'd like that," she smiled.

"I'm Vincent, by the way," he said, offering her his arm.

She hooked her arm around his. "I'm Ashe."


End file.
